


restless nights

by georgiehensley



Category: Bandstand - Oberacker/Oberacker & Taylor
Genre: Canon Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Nightmares, Platonic Cuddling, Possibly Pre-Slash, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-20 22:52:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15543933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgiehensley/pseuds/georgiehensley
Summary: donny has a nightmare while the band's away in new york. johnny notices and tries to help.





	restless nights

**Author's Note:**

> @loonylilylunapotter on tumblr arranged a group bandstand fic thing, with each person writing for a different ship. mine's donny/johnny, so here's my entry. enjoy!

it’s the middle of the night when johnny hears soft whimpers coming from the other side of the room. he glances in the direction of the other bed, only to find donny visibly shaking in the dim moonlit room. johnny sighs, climbing out of bed, stifling a groan behind his hand as his aching back fights against the motion. he steps across the small space between their two beds, ducking down to try and nudge donny awake.

he says his name a few times too, all while gently giving his shoulder a few pushes. it takes a few minutes, but donny finally wakes up, jumping as he does so, hand flying up to grip johnny’s arm as though preparing to fight off an attacker.

“sorry,” donny says, dropping his hand when he realizes it’s just johnny.

“another nightmare?” johnny asks.

“yeah,” donny answers, running a hand over his face, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “i’m surprised i was even able to fall asleep this time.”

“new york beds are more comfortable,” johnny comments and donny smiles.

“sorry for bothering you,” donny says after a few moments, sighing.

“it’s okay,” johnny says. “i get it. i have nightmares too, sometimes. about the accident. car flips three times and then i wake up.”

“surprised any one of us can sleep sometimes,” donny says. “you can go back now. i think i’m alright.”

“you gonna go back to sleep?” johnny asks. donny sighs.

“i don’t know.”

“well, maybe i can stay here with you. make sure you sleep nightmare-free.”

“what, share a bed? i don’t know, johnny. isn’t that a little…?”

“a little what?”

“…nevermind.”

donny slides over in his bed, making room for johnny to lay down next to him. they remain like that, just lying side by side, for several moments before donny breaks the comfortable silence that had fallen over them.

“you know, michael would do this sometimes, over there,” donny says. “lay with me to help me sleep. though the cots were much smaller, we had to lay on our sides to both fit on one bed, and pushing two together would have been too much.”

“michael sounds like a good guy,” johnny says.

“yeah, he was,” donny says.

they’re quiet again for a while, until johnny hears donny’s breathing even out. he smiles, shutting his own eyes and relaxing himself to fall asleep. a few moments later, he hears whimpering again, and he slides in closer, wrapping an arm around donny. instantly, the whimpering stops, and donny relaxes into the embrace. johnny smiles and soon falls asleep himself, both sleeping peacefully through the night.


End file.
